Kitty on a Ledge

November 15, 2012

Many people believe that cats are naturally agile, enjoying the chance to leap from place to place.

Yeah … not so much.

Gus and Lilly are my jumpers. They are essentially fearless when it comes to crossing great bounds. While it’s not so surprising with Lilly, who has always been more adventurous, I’ve always been shocked by Gus’ love of leaping, given he is terrified by many other things like house guests and trips to the vet.

But Izzy and Zoey never have been jumpers. Izzy … well … she’s lazy. She prefers climbing to jumping. And given the choice between climbing and sleeping, she’ll pick sleeping every time.

And Zoey … well … she’s just … Zoey.

Just as an example, when she took her second trip to the vet’s office, she tried to jump between the table and the sink, which were all of about two feet apart.

She concentrated, wriggled her butt and leapt …

… only to completely misjudge the distance and smack into the side of the counter.

The vet gasped, scooped her up and checked her for injuries (there were none) before telling me that Zoey might have vision problems because she shouldn’t have had any trouble making the jump.

I, on the other hand, knew better. Zoey has never been the most coordinated of cats. She is the tiniest animal I have, but she often acts more like a gangly puppy who has trouble figuring out how to coordinate all of her limbs. And although she weighs all of 8 pounds, she practically stomps through the house like she is double Cooper’s size.

So, to say that I am surprised when she finally leaps to a new area is an understatement.

Recently, she ventured to a new place: the top of the fireplace mantle. It’s a place that Gus and Lilly have explored many times before (Izzy refuses to even acknowledge it exists). While cleaning, I moved some items around, creating a bit of a staircase to the mantle. Zoey immediately took advantage of the situation and climbed to the top to enjoy a whole new view of the world.

How Zoey got to the top of the mantle.

Zoey looking out the window.

Lilly had to join Zoey, too, and explore a bit — although she’s done this plenty of times before.

More Zoey.

And Zoey.

And Zoey.

And Zoey.

Zoey will never be my most coordinated or graceful cats, but she is definitely the funniest. I will always enjoy watching her explorations. And I will give her every opportunity to see the world in new and interesting ways.